Girl's Day Up
by Lilypad18
Summary: Sophia and her mother, Annabeth go up to Olympus.
1. Chapter 1

Sophia clutched onto her mother's hand for dear life as they walked through the busy streets of New York. Today was the day that Sophia was finally going to meet her grandmother, Athena. And not only was New York fast-paced today, but so was her heart. She was nervous (but excited, too) to convene with her grandmother because Sophia had been waiting for this day for a while now.

Sophia watched as the New Yorkers hustled through the streets, _kind of like worker ants, _she observed. They were all bustling to one destination or another, not to mention impolitely too. Sophia kept track of how many times a distracted adult has bumped into her or accidentally stepped on her toe. They didn't even apologize but just let out a huff of aggravation, barely even gazing down at the victim. Sophia concluded that she didn't like New York so much; she only enjoyed her house in the quiet suburb.

Her mother led her into a tall building which Sophia could point out was the Empire State Building. She smiled and followed her mother in, her white, summer sandals brighter than the marble floor. They both walked over to a kiosk where a man was slothfully reading a newspaper. To Sophia, he almost looked like he was starting to fall asleep. Annabeth leaned in close, her tone hushed and quick.

"I would like the key to the 600th floor, please." The man looked up from the newspaper, raising an eyebrow.

"Ma'am, there are only 102 floors here. Clearly, you are getting confused with other buildings." Sophia could see that his statement insulted her mother. Annabeth stood up straighter, her eyes narrowed, her grip on her daughter's hand a little tighter.

"Pardon me, sir, but you are the one who is mistaken. I am a professional architect and I even work he-" The man grinned, a sly glint in his eye.

"I'm just yankin' your chain, missy." He tossed her the key and Annabeth caught them just in time, a surprised look on her face. He continued, "I remember you, only the important people, really. Go on up, but just be careful, I have a feeling Zeus is a little restless today." Annabeth nodded and smiled, but only through politeness. She led her daughter to the elevator, not giving Sophia any chances on questioning that strange man.

Annabeth hit the button, and the doors opened up to them. They both entered and the doors quickly shut. Sophia watched as her mother inserted the key into a secretive slot and another button appeared on the menu of all of the buttons. Her mother hit the new button which had the omega sign on it and the elevator ascended.

Sophia looked around as they went up; the elevator was grandly designed with lots of gold and dark, grayish marble. She liked the design of it; it gave the elevator an aura of importance and need, unlike usual dismal and dirty elevators she has traveled in. This elevator was clean also, she could see the reflection of her face in the shine of the marble. The elevator let out a bright _ding _as the elevator doors opened again. Sophia looked up and gasped at the brilliant sight before her.

Olympus was a utopia, even though some parts of it were under construction. She saw temples being erected in the distance, a line of gold steps keeping the distance in between them. Her mother smiled at her reaction and kneeled down to her.

"I thought you might like it," Sophia looked at her mother, purely awe-struck.

"You designed this, mother?" Annabeth smiled more, nodding.

"Yes, I did," She stood up; taking her daughter's hand again. "The gods allowed me to reconstruct Olympus after the second Titan war your father and I participated in. I'm still so thankful, even today, that they allowed me to make my designs possible on their sacred structure." Annabeth sighed and Sophia noticed that her mother was having memory flashbacks; she always got this faraway look on her face, as if the memories themselves were playing out like movies in her head.

Sophia wished she could see these movies, she was sure that they would explain so much about her parents, not to mention that strong bond they share. Sophia could tell that special bond was built over a progression of hard times. But, as her mother says, what only kills you makes you stronger. She knew her mother had experience with this quote, she heard it through her mother's tone when she said it, it was truthfully raw, not to mention harsh, even though she wasn't trying to be.

She saw her mother slightly flinch at a bad memory, absentmindedly and almost painfully rubbing one of her shoulders. She shook her head, exiting that memory movie. Annabeth attempted to smile down at her daughter, reassuring Sophia that she was okay, but her smile looked forced, as if she was the one trying to reassure herself that she was okay.

Annabeth led her daughter up the stairs and Sophia dared to look down below. Through some scattered patches of clouds, she could see New York. The people really did look like scurrying ants, "_but look who's the queen ant now?" _she mentally asked the citizens down below. They didn't answer her back, so Sophia hastily stuck her tongue out at them, speedily following behind her mother.


	2. Seeing the Structures

"The throne room is the only thing I haven't gotten to yet," Annabeth whispered to her daughter as they made their way into the extravagant, circular room. Sophia looked around; only a couple out of the twelve Olympians was there. They sat in their thrones, discussing something. Sophia recognized Zeus immediately, with his always serious demeanor and his business suit and tie.

She saw Aphrodite who was sitting in her throne, looking awfully bored until Sophia entered. She perked up in her chair, giving her a thankful smile and a small wave. Sophia returned a smile and a wave back to her giant aunt. But, what Aphrodite did next was surprising, she winked at Sophia and then poofed away in a cloud of pink dust and sparkles.

The color pink and sparkles really wasn't the surprise, but Sophia blushed at the wink, knowing that Aphrodite had something in store for Sophia and her love life. She had hoped that her great aunt didn't see that slight crush she had for a boy in her class. She wanted to keep it on the down low, staying away from girlish gossip (at all times, if possible) because it usually led into unwise decisions and stressful problems that weighed on one's shoulders, just like the world on Atlas's.

Her attention then turned to the man that was sitting beside Zeus. She knew those boyish, rebellious but aged features before. He was her grandfather, Poseidon. He still wore his daily uniform, but his hat rested on his throne's armrest. He was talking to his brother, but looked at her, once she approached him. That same, warm smile made its appearance again.

"Ah, Sophia," She knew that there was a hint of pride when he said her name. "You finally came." Sophia nodded and looked up to him, her neck hurt after a while.

"Yes, grandfather, I made it." She said the fact with a pleasant smile. Poseidon nodded.

"Well, do you want a tour?" He looked to her mother, who was casually looking around. "Or should I let the fabulous architect lead the way?" Annabeth paid attention when her father-in-law uttered the word, "architect". She saw her mother blush a little, but she fared to smile thankfully at his recognition of her work. Sophia shook her head.

"That won't be necessary, Grandfather Poseidon. Mother and I are visiting Grandmother Athena today," She felt herself smile more. "I'm so excited!" She covered her mouth, inwardly scolding herself for acting so immature, especially in the presence of the prestigious gods. A bellow of laughter shook the circular room; the owner of it being Zeus. He looked over at his sibling.

"You were right, brother. She is just as captivating as you described her!" He looked down at Sophia. "I've never met anyone so excited to meet my daughter. Well, maybe except all of her consorts, but that's a different story." Sophia saw him smile, even through his bushy, venerable beard. She couldn't help but to smile back. Annabeth joined her daughter's side.

"Well, we better get going, Soph. My mother has the virtue of wisdom, but definitely not patience." Zeus and Poseidon chuckled at Annabeth's remark and she smiled.

"I'll see you later, Grandfather Poseidon." Sophia waved to Zeus over her shoulder, Zeus reluctantly waving back.


	3. Athena's Temple

Annabeth gave Sophia the whole tour of Olympus as they went on their expedition to find her grandmother. And even though it was under construction, there were a lot of facts about this place. Sophia willingly listened, but only for her mother. The facts were interesting, but got kind of boring after a while.

Sophia dwelled on the thought that maybe this is how her father felt when her mother eagerly, but with some nervousness thrown in there, chatted about her designs at the breakfast table with Percy before a big meeting up on Olympus, her latest blueprints tucked under one arm as she struggled to get the kids (and Percy) breakfast and ready for school.

Sophia noticed that her mother always took her chances with having her work in the dangerously active kitchen and not in her office. But she also observed that this is when her infamous and graceful battle reflexes came into daily use, outside the arena and the death of monsters. She dodged her clumsy husband who carried a mug of orange juice back to the table or her energetic son, holding a bowl of very mushy-with-milk cereal. Sophia patiently waited at the table for her toast and side of eggs, creating a beat of her fingertips against the brown table; her great uncle is Apollo, after all.

They finally came to Athena's temple and Sophia thought that her temple was the most majestic out of all. It was constructed out of white/grayish marble with an owl carved above the doorway, sensibly and proudly perched on two olive branches that were also carved out of the marble. Sophia heard her mother mention that she based Athena's temple off of hers at a camp she went to.

Whenever Annabeth would talk about the camp, Sophia knew that it was important to her, only by the way she lovingly talked about it. However, sometimes the tone of her voice got sad and it made Sophia get a bit sad too. But then Percy would jump into the conversation, saving the day by goofily sharing a happy memory (accompanied with his renowned, silly grin that made Annabeth grin too) that they secretly experienced from the camp, leaving Sophia more dumbfounded than she usually likes to be.

Sophia could tell that the camp was also important to her father also; her parents were always both so content when they talked about it. This was another topic Sophia really wanted to know about, especially with all of the random stories that got retold from time to time in her and her brother's presence.

Chase didn't even bother to eavesdrop in on it, continuing to stay in his own little word, but Sophia was a whole other story. Her curious ear was constantly turned in their direction as she tried to hide it by sneakily constructing a 200 piece puzzle or peeking above the latest book she was reading on the couch. Her legs always impatiently swung over the side of the couch, as if they had a mind of their own, trying to run towards her parents to finally get rid of that sense of longing and unending curiosity and feel that rush of relief of knowledge on the subject.

"So, what do you think, Soph?" Sophia looked up at her mother, not enjoying the point that she was unexpectedly ripped from her thoughts.

"I think it is very sophisticated, mother." Annabeth smiled at her daughter.

"Thanks," Annabeth's smile grew as she made her way into the temple, her sporty and practical sneakers squeaking against the marble steps with newness. Sophia followed behind her, giving one last glance at the outside before walking into the temple.


	4. Inside The Temple

The inside of the temple was even grander than the outside! Not to mention that it seemed like the temple was bigger on the inside than out, she thought. The ceiling was high and even though Sophia tried to keep her footsteps light, she could still hear them illegally echo within the structure.

The same gray marble continued on the floor and on the walls, along with the ceiling. Long bookshelves lined the back and side walls. A long, dark and sophisticated wooden table ran in the middle of the temple. And for decoration, framed war maps hung on the vacant walls; they were already planned out and colored a faded yellow with age.

However, the cherry on top was the woman sitting at the table, busily reading a big book that was spread out in front of her. A large stack of books was stacked beside her; they looked old because of the slight coat of dust they wore. Sophia smiled; she knew she was looking at her grandmother, one of the few people who inspired her. Annabeth looked from her mother and then down to her daughter, a pleasant but happy smile on her face. She gently whispered to her daughter.

"Let me introduce you first," She paused and bit her lip, choosing her words carefully. "She can be a bit…decisive when first meeting someone." Sophia nodded and forced herself to patiently wait as her mother walked towards the table, almost hesitantly. Annabeth quietly cleared her throat before talking.

"Mother?" It was a couple of seconds before Athena looked away from her book and up to her eager daughter.

"What is it, Annabeth?" Her tone was pressing, as if almost annoyed, but Sophia could hear some loving concern thrown in there too, it was merely a maternal response. Sophia knew that it took a lot to earn respect from Athena, but she was up for the challenge.

"You have a visitor today, mother." Sophia swore she saw her mother smile more, even in the dim lighting. "She's your granddaughter." Athena closed the book, sending a small shower of dust into the air. She placed the book on top of the pile, making the mountain of books even taller.

"Ah," She nodded and finally responded, somewhat calming down the readily fluttering butterflies in Sophia's stomach. "Is this the girl you always talk about while you're up here?" Annabeth nodded.

"Yes, mother, she is." Athena folded her hands on the table, continuing to look at her daughter.

"Well, show her to me, then." Sophia didn't see her mother nod but she turned around and looked at her daughter, a cautious smile on her face.

"Come on, Soph." Sophia knew this was her cue, so she walked up to that table, (after prepping her clothes and checking her breath, of course).

"Good morning, Grandmother. It is absolutely wonderful to meet you today," She offered her grandmother a nice smile with no regrets, because she naturally nailed the line that she was practicing for a good couple of days.

Athena studied Sophia and she could see the judging words calculating in her eyes, which were the same color as hers. She had just noticed this as she studied her grandmother back. Sophia also observed the accepting smile that spread onto Athena's lips. It was a small smile, but Sophia would take it, anytime, any day.

"Well, she is definitely my granddaughter," She said and looked up at Annabeth. "And most definitely everything you have told me." Her eyes found Sophia again. "Welcome to Olympus, dear." Sophia and nodded but couldn't help to smile more.

"Thank you, Grandmother."


	5. Discussions

"So, how is school going for you, Sophia?" Sophia's legs dangled over the chair when she sat in it, but she dared not to swing her legs. She was carefully watching all of the moves and gestures she was doing, now that she was all alone with her grandmother. Annabeth had left to go talk to Ares about the designs of his temple. She didn't look too happy as she said it, but it was an excuse to leave her daughter and her mother alone for a little bonding time. She looked up from her hands in her lap and to Athena's, whose quizzical eyes were on her.

"School is going quite well, Grandmother, even if it tends to get a bit boring from time to time."

"Yes, yes," Athena nodded as she crossed her legs. "I understand. The fact is that you already know the majority of the curriculum of your fifth grade course because you have read it all in books." Sophia was shocked, she really did understand. She tilted her head, trying to find the courage to ask her another question.

"How did you know that, Grandmother?" Athena chuckled and leaned in closer to her granddaughter, resting her elbow on her leg.

"Because I have experienced the same, my dear, but do not worry, this problem goes away as time passes, only for the reason that people respect you for your knowledge," She casually picked up an olive off of a silver platter that a nymph had brought in a couple of minutes ago. Sophia nodded, taking in all of the informational advice. She decided that it felt good to not be alone; however, she also decided to change the topic.

"Grandmother, what is your most favorite book?" She glanced behind at the bookshelves. "Even though you do have quite the collection of them," Athena took a sip from a golden goblet before getting up and walking towards the shelves. It was a good couple of minutes before she returned back to the table and Sophia. In her hands, she held Homer's, _The Iliad _and _The Odyssey_. The books looked very old and worn down, but they did not have any dust occupying their front covers. You could say that Athena had the vintage editions, which were definitely out of stock (not to mention print) by now.

"Well, knowing me, I would have to have two favorites, Sophia," She sat down at the table, placing the books out in front of them. Sophia sat up more in the chair, peering over the edge of the table and at the books. She thought they looked so interesting, just by glancing at the covers. She guessed it was fine to judge a book by its cover, as long it was in a positive fashion, anyway.

"What are they about?" Sophia asked and looked at Athena who was already opening one up, gently and lovingly turning the pages. Athena spoke while still looking at the book.

"Have you ever heard of them?" Sophia nodded.

"Yes, and I was going to check them out at our library once, but the librarian wouldn't let me," She sighed sadly. "And I was so excited to read them." Sophia saw her grandmother make a disappointed face as she closed the book.

"That was highly unwise choice of that librarian," She looked at her granddaughter. "Librarians should want children to read and explore books, even if they may be a bit tough to read." She sighed and shook your head. Sophia shrugged.

"Well, how can you argue with a grownup when you were only six years old?" Athena nodded.

"Good point." It was then quiet for a while in the temple, only before Athena began to speak again. "Well, do you want to check them out?" Sophia's eyebrows rose in shock.

"What?" She shook her head. "I couldn't do that, Grandmother. These are your special copies and yours only. I can just go to the library tomorrow and get them there. You see, I'm ten now and I'm pretty sure that that librarian is gone an-" Athena raised a hand, silencing Sophia.

"Sophia, please take the books. I trust you and I want you to enjoy them just as much as I do." She smiled at her granddaughter and leaned in closer to her, her tone light and urgent with a new secret. "Maybe we can even have our own book club." Sophia's face lit up.

"Really? I would absolutely love that!" She excitedly grinned at Athena. "You have to understand, Grandmother, I am the only kid in my class who wants to have a book club. But sadly, no one else does, so I'm overruled." She rolled her eyes. "All of the boys want to have either a video game club or a sports club. And the girls, well, they want to have a fashion club, leaving me alone." Athena shook her head and sighed.

"Well, I am very sorry to hear that, Soph. I really do wish your peers would choose wiser and smarter choices for clubs, especially the girls." Sophia shrugged.

"What can you do?" She smiled up at her grandmother. "Girly girls will be girly girls." Athena nodded and Sophia saw her smile, crow's feet creasing around her eyes elegantly. For Athena's age, she looked quite graceful and classy even today. And Sophia was very proud of it, no cookies or sweaters or cats for her! Sophia looked towards the door as she heard urgent and bothersome chatter echoing all around. She knew one of them was her mother but the other one was a deep, manly voice. Her mother came out of the shadows and next to her was indeed a man; he was tall, wearing a leather jacket, black boots and sunglasses, even though it was dark enough in here. His presence made Sophia annoyingly angry, as if Chase had stolen her most favorite book.

"Like I said before, I want all of my vanquished enemies' blood constantly pouring down the walls of my temple!" The man gruffly said and Annabeth let out a frustrated huff, she was holding a blue print in front of them as they walked and talked, well, more like fought.

"And like I said before, I can't make that happen!" Annabeth rolled her eyes and folded the blueprints, putting them under her arm. "I mean, that would just take too much time and effort, and if you haven't noticed, I still have a lot of other temples to reconstruct." Sophia saw the man ball his fists at his sides.

"You make it sound like I'm not worth all of that work," Annabeth had an annoyed look on her face as she looked to her daughter.

"You seriously do not want me to respond to that, Ares," Annabeth's look broke and she smiled at Sophia. Ares agitatedly switched to another foot and looked at the young architect.

"And who is this punk?" He gestured to Sophia. Annabeth looked at Ares over her shoulder.

"This 'punk' happens to be my daughter," Sophia saw that her mother wasn't too pleased. Annabeth wanted to say something else, but she bit her tongue, knowing that his patience was riskily running out. Ares smirked.

"You and Kelp Beard's son had a kid?" He shook his head in disbelief. "I don't even wanna know." Sophia was looking down at her lap but out of the corner of her eye, she saw her mother cheeks redden a bit.

"Yes, but believe it or not, Percy and I actually have two children." Ares's and Athena's heads both perked up at her statement.

"Two?" They asked at the same time. Athena gave Ares a look, making him uncomfortable, causing him to leave. Sophia was happy that he did. Athena stood up at the table, looking at her daughter.

"I have a grandson, Annabeth?" Annabeth nodded and looked back at Athena.

"Yes, mother, you do." Athena nodded but straightened her posture.

"Well, I would like to meet him some time," Annabeth raised an eyebrow but Athena continued. "Even if he may have the same DNA as Poseidon," Annabeth smiled and nodded.

"And I'm sure that he would like to meet you too," Annabeth sighed and glanced at her watch, her eyes widening. "Oh gods, we've gotta go." She held out her hand towards Sophia. "Come on, Soph." Sophia hopped down from the chair and scurried over to her mother, slipping her hand into hers.

Sophia held her grandmother's books in her other arm as she and her mother made their way out of the temple. Sophia smiled at her grandmother over her shoulder and her grandmother waved in return, a genuinely content smile lining her lips. Sophia held the books closer to her chest.


	6. Burgers and a boy

"I cannot believe that I get to keep these!" Sophia practically squealed as her eyes glanced at the books that sat next to her in the booth y. Her mother and she sat in a restaurant that was close to Times Square, but it was hidden well enough to not attract too much attention. It was small and cute and Sophia knew that it was special to her mother; it probably held some memories for her father too, she could tell. Annabeth smiled at her daughter.

"I'm glad you had fun, Soph." Sophia nodded as she slightly swung her legs, making sure that her feet didn't hit the bottom of the booth or a random, painful metal pole that was connected to the wall.

"But what did you do, mother?" Sophia sipped her drink from the twisty straw; it changed from its original blue to a new color of purple. Annabeth sighed and rested her chin on her palm as she played with a straw wrapper. Sophia decided to finish the maze on the temporary kiddie coloring place mat with an orange crayon as she listened to her mother's response.

"Oh, nothing very interesting, per say," She met her daughter's gaze. "I was just working out some kinks in my blueprints." Sophia slowly started to smile.

"It sure didn't look very uninteresting mother," Annabeth rolled her eyes because she already knew what Sophia was talking about.

"That was Ares," She commented with annoyed disgust manifesting in her tone. "The only reason why I'm getting even more gray hair when young in age," Sophia's eyebrows rose.

"He's really that bad?" Sophia's mother nodded.

"Well, you sort of interacted with him." She sighed.

"That's true," Sophia pointed out. "But why is he like that, mother?" Annabeth shrugged.

"No one knows, really."

"Not even Aphrodite?" Sophia questioned, making Annabeth smile a bit.

"Maybe," She said. "I think it depends on how committed they are to each other and what level their relationship is on." The waitress smiled at them as she accidentally interrupted their conversation. She set the plates of food in front of them.

"There you go, ladies," She pulled some more napkins out of her apron that wrapped around her waist and placed them on the table. "Enjoy." Sophia raised an eyebrow at her mother after the waitress left.

"Since when did you get so analytical on relationships?" Annabeth shrugged and she blushed but she tried to hide it by keeping her head low as she poured ketchup out of the bottle and onto her plate.

"I guess some of Aphrodite's advice rubbed off and onto me when I finished her temple this afternoon," Annabeth smiled meekly at her daughter, licking some misshapen ketchup off of her pointer finger. "Oh, and your great aunt told me to pass something on to you." Sophia bit her French fry.

"And what's the advice?"

"She said to, 'go for it'," Annabeth tapped her chin. "I don't understand what it means, but she said you would understand." Sophia's eyes widened and she nervously put down that French fry.

"How does she know these things?" She mumbled to herself, shaking her head in disbelief.

"You're not the only one who has asked that question before, Soph," Annabeth said as she swallowed her bite of her burger. "She may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but when it comes to the subject of love, she is all powerful." Sophia managed a smile and nodded.

"Agreed," Annabeth nodded but looked at her daughter. "But what was she talking about?" Sophia bit her lip and her gaze was low, she used a French fry as a paintbrush to draw on her plate, the ketchup the paint.

"There's this boy in my class," She started. "His name is Matthew." Annabeth couldn't help but smile.

"That's cute, Soph, but what does that have to do with what Aphrodite said?" Sophia looked up at her mother, a little nervous to reveal the truth.

"I'm too chicken to talk to him," Annabeth placed her cup down after taking a drink from it.

"I agree with Aphrodite." She stated. "Go for it, you never know what could happen." Sophia let out a sigh.

"I would, but he's always surrounded by his rambunctious, barbaric friends," Sophia finally ate that French fry. "I'm kind of scared of them, actually. They would eat me alive before I even got the chance to talk to Matthew!" Annabeth shook her head but smiled.

"Sophia, you are one of the bravest girls I have ever met, I'm sure you could get his attention from miles away." Sophia smiled thankfully.

"Thanks mother, but brains don't attract boys nowadays."

"That's not true," Annabeth shook her head. "I think I won your father over with my brains." Sophia giggled.

"I think so too, mother, he still looks quite perplexed when you talk about measurements of a new design and what not." Annabeth chuckled at her daughter as Sophia took a bite of her hamburger.

"Now, I'm afraid that's true," Annabeth wiped her fingers on her napkin. "But all that matters is that Matthew likes you for you, your brains and hereditary beauty." Sophia laughed and threw a fry at her mother who tried to dodge it but it fell in her lap.

"Oh, well, thank you, mother," Sophia replied but she still smiled. Annabeth sighed happily once she was done laughing.

"I was just kidding," Annabeth said as she rested the fry on the table. "But I am dead serious with you on talking to this Matthew; he sounds like a nice boy." Sophia nodded.

"He is and I will attempt to talk to him on Tuesday. I promise, mother." Annabeth nodded.

"Good." Her mother replied. The two finished their meal with a quiet debate over whether or not they should bring something home for the boys. They decided to purchase cookies.


End file.
